The dangers of flying over Irian

The dangers of flying over Irian

By I. Christianto and Pandaya

JAKARTA (JP): Imagine this. You are one of nine people flying
a light plane over the virgin jungle of mountainous Irian Jaya.
It is your maiden voyage by plane over the territory notorious
amongst many high flyers for its rough mountainous terrain,
unpredictable weather patterns and untouched wilderness.

While the light plane undertakes roller coaster type maneuvers
between perpendicular ravines at 10,000 feet, a rainstorm
suddenly looms large ahead. What would your pilot possibly do? If
he is wise and well-versed with the topography and weather
patterns of Irian Jaya, he would make a U-turn and head straight
for a nearby airstrip or the airport of origin.

It is these natural features that have been blamed for the
recent crash on Trikora Peak, Jaya Wijaya regency, of the Navy's
CASA NC 212 that killed all nine people aboard. The wreckage was
found scattered at the height of 11,800 feet (3,597 meter) where
temperature was minus five degrees Celsius.

For daredevil pilots, Irian Jaya with its airstrips and small
airports lacking in adequate facilities it is an exciting
airspace to satisfy their adventurous spirits. But for people
unfamiliar with the area, flying a plane there would most
probably send a chill down their spine.

The Irianese mountain peaks and steep slopes that one has to
pass through when flying from Timika in the south to the north
eastern capital of Jayapura are particularly "challenging" for
lesser-experienced pilots in Irian Jaya.

There are hundreds of peaks with near perpendicular walls that
light planes would find difficult passing through, especially
when it is cloudy or rainy. Tropical Irian Jaya is highly humid
with an annual average rainfall of 5,500 millimeter.

Light planes have become the only mode of transportation to
connect outlying areas of the sparsely populated province in the
absence of roads and presence of rivers which can only be
obviously used for water transport.

Seasoned pilots of light planes familiar with flying a plane
in Irian Jaya have thrilling and stomach-churning Hollywood-style
stories to tell.

Unpredictable

Djoko Toret, 45, is a senior pilot of state-owned Merpati
Nusantara Airlines, who used to be based in Biak between 1980 and
1990 to serve feeder routes in the region. As part of its social
mission, Merpati serves both feeder and commercial routes.

"From the western tip town of Sorong, until the center of the
island, there is a mountain range. Peaks stand close to each
other and weather is unpredictable, making flights risky," Djoko,
who flew a Twin-Otter plane, told The Jakarta Post.

Light planes like Twin Otters are seen as the best choice in
Irian Jaya because the aircraft can take off and land on very
simple airstrips.

As this sort of plane doesn't have a sophisticated navigation
system, don't have even consider becoming a pilot in Irian Jaya
if you didn't first have a very good visual ability.

The pilot has to be constantly on the look out for changing
weather patterns and topography, mountains, gaps and valleys. The
"check points" are often deceptive because gaps and ravines look
similar.

"On many occasions we have to fly through ravines or spaces
between mountains to reach destinations. A slight mistake may end
up in the plane hitting a mountainside," Djoko said.

For instance, he said, there are two routes when flying from
the mining city of Timika in the southwest of Irian Jaya, to
Wamena, the capital of Jayawijaya district.

One is via the Enarotali Lake and Baliem Valley, and the other
is via the South gap. The latter route is much more challenging
as the flight must follow a mountainous line and there are many
identical gaps.

According to Djoko, the Timika-Jayapura route is especially
tough.

"I am greatly sympathetic to the recent incident on the Navy
CASA NC-212 aircraft. But I think every pilot flying in the Irian
region must have gained equally special training and exercises as
I managed to get in Merpati," he said.

Wreckage of the ill-fated 16-seat Casa NC-212 turbo-prop was
found by two pilots of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF),
Harry Berghuis and Tom Hans, who flew a Bell Jet Ranger 201.

The cause of the crash is not yet entirely clear. The plane's
pilot Maj. Sutopo Waluyo, a deputy chief of Squadron 600 and co-
pilot First Lt. Deddy Haryanto, were believed to be very
experienced as they had been posted in Irian Jaya for about six
years.

It is believed that the CASA aircraft took the wrong gap when
it attempted to enter Wamena from the South Gap, where there are
numerous gaps with similar features.

MAF has long become the backbone of air transport in the Irian
Jaya hinterland.

A German-born MAF pilot, Alexander Bruecki, 31, told Kompas
that pilots serving in Irian Jaya should have good knowledge of
the ever-changing weather there.

Bruecki, who flies a Cessna and usually carries three to five
missionaries and locals, has spent five years in different parts
of Irian Jaya.

MAF has six foreign pilots and one Irian man for its nine
fleet of nine planes. Fellowship officials apply strict rules for
the planes' maintenance. Every aircraft undergoes thorough checks
after 50-100 hours of flying.

The Casa NC-212 plane was made by Bandung-based PT Dirgantara
Indonesia (previously IPTN) in collaboration with CASA of Spain.
The ill-fated plane was manufactured some 16 years ago. Prior to
this incident, five other Casa aircraft of that type have crashed
at various locations in the country.

Weather

For Djoko, the high and numerous mountain peaks are not the
major challenge. The real danger is the quick changing weather.

Whenever rain starts to falls or thick clouds or fog suddenly
appear, the pilot has to quickly ascend and fly higher to a safer
altitude for better vision, he said.

The pilot is then able to decide whether the plane can proceed
to its destination or not. To return without ascending would not
be possible as the plane might be trapped in a narrow gap.

"I have often faced a sudden change in weather conditions. It
suddenly starts to rain or I become trapped in clouds," he said.

Bad weather is usually most disruptive when he is flying low.

Light planes are usually not pressure resistant. Light planes
like Casa NC-212, Twin Otters, Cessnas are not usually well
equipped with enough oxygen when flying at higher altitudes.
Normally, light planes fly at an altitude of between 8,000 feet
and 10,000 feet, though the engines allow flying to occur up to
25,000 feet.

According to Djoko, taking off and landing on most runways in
Irian Jaya was also a great challenge. The load has to be
calculated carefully according to the size of the runway at the
place of destination.

Residents of Irian Jaya, he said, remember fondly one incident
when they had to voluntarily pull out a plane trapped in a swamp
after landing.

Throughout his 10-year assignment in Irian Jaya he has enjoyed
warm relations with locals.

"I have learned that flight is the only means of
transportation, but it is not possible to impose even higher
fares for them as they don't earn high wages. They are mostly
small traders, teachers, civil servants and social workers who
need transportation," he said.

Light planes like the Casa NC-212, Twin Otter, Cessna are most
suitable for most runways in Irian Jaya which are only about 600
meters long.

There are some 40 runways in Irian Jaya.

Captain Wuri Septiawan, also of Merpati, advises that aircraft
operating in Irian must get proper maintenance.

"Technology wise, a Casa NC-212 plane is equipped with radar,
radio altimeter and so on. But when there are many passengers,
the plane is not able to ascend as it is not cabin-pressurized,"
he said.

Bad weather has caused several plane crashes. Accidents in
Irian Jaya have involved a medium-body aircraft Fokker-28 of MNA
in July 1993 and HS748 of Bouraq in August 1995.